The Speed Equation
by gracia.michelle
Summary: Barry ponders the solution to the speed equation in episode 2x17.


_AN: It's been quite some time since I've written something and I know this is shorter than the other things I've written so far. Anyway, I hope you enjoy it. Please read and review and favourite._

The speed equation…it was all Barry Allen thought about these days. He obsessed over it almost as much as he had obsessed over his mother's murder before he had put a name and a face to the man in the yellow suit. Eobard Thawne, wearing the face of Harrison Wells had gained his trust and then one day shattered it. Barry could see the pattern; he just wished he had been able to see it sooner. Actually he had seen it earlier, hadn't he? He had Zoom locked up in the pipe line the day he had walked into STAR labs and introduced himself as Jay Garrick, the Flash from Earth 2. He had put away the biggest threat to the multiverse without even realizing it. But then he had allowed himself to believe and hope and now he was paying the price and he had no one else to blame but himself.

Barry stared blankly at the board in front of him. He had read every book even remotely related to speed and yet, he was nowhere close to solving the speed equation. Maybe the answer was somewhere in there and he had missed it or maybe whatever he needed hadn't even been discovered or published yet. He sighed and turned away and was confronted by Jay's helmet. The object angered him as much as it motivated him and also put Cisco on edge but he still held on to it. It symbolized the betrayal he felt and drove home the lesson he had been so reluctant to learn.

How had his life gotten to this point? Twice he had looked up to a man of science to help him gain a better understanding of his powers and both times he had ended up regretting it. The story was exactly the same. He met a man, who knew more than he did about his speed; who had a better idea of the limits and the capabilities of his speed. The man helped him and trained him to faster, pushed him as far as he could go and sometimes, beyond. They fought side by side, but in different capacities. They grew closer, they became friends, partners and then one day, when he least expected it, it all came crashing down. He found out that the man he looked up to was also the man who hated him and wanted him dead. Talk about history repeating!

The buzz of his cell phone broke him out of his thoughts. He had set a reminder on his phone so he wouldn't be late for dinner again. Joe had told him that Wally would be there too. He knew Wally probably wouldn't care if Barry were late but he thought better of pushing his luck; he knew his foster brother didn't like him. He was tolerated for Joe's sake and the thought was just as depressing as anything else that had been on his mind lately. He set down his marker and spared both the board and the helmet a parting glance before he sped out of the cortex.

Even as he stepped through the threshold of the West household, his mind was abuzz with thoughts of the speed equation, V9 and Zoom. He wasn't going to resort to drugs, he knew better but he'd be lying if he said he wasn't tempted. Despite having seen what it did to Trajectory and Zoom, he would still find his mind idly playing with the idea. Then he would realise the magnitude of what he was thinking of doing and would force himself to veer away from those thoughts.

He stayed locked up in his room, trying to snap himself out of the trance he seemed to be in. But try as he may, his mind just wouldn't stop tormenting him. When he heard the front door open and close, he knew that he had just run out of time and ready or not, he had to go downstairs. The minute he took his seat at the table, he could tell from Joe and Iris' faces that he wasn't doing a very good job of concealing what he was feeling.

He tried to focus on the conversation flowing around him. Even as he caught snippets here and there he just couldn't concentrate. Sure he had words of advice for Iris but that's as much as he could manage before his brain wandered to his biggest problem yet again – Zoom or Jay Garrick or Hunter Zolomon or whoever he was. He's seen a speedster appear to be at two places at once, in fact, he'd done it himself when fighting Dr Light but this was a whole other level of trickery; a whole other level of speed probably. He thought back to the first time he had faced off against Zoom. He had tried to throw lightning at him, just like Jay had thought him to and now he just felt stupid. He had been stupid, completely blinded by the idea of having another speedster on his side, mentoring him. Despite his initial doubts, he hadn't taken a minute of his time since then to question Jay's motives. He had taken him at his word and now he was regretting it.

It wasn't until Wally started talking about his project that Barry managed to force himself to concentrate on the people around him. He forced himself to listen and to participate and just like that Wally spoke the words that sparked an idea. Sure, Wally couldn't learn from people who were dead but he could. He could travel through time. That had to be it! That had to be the answer.

Eobard Thawne was the answer! He had known how to enhance his speed artificially. He had been able to manipulate the speed force. If only Barry could somehow get him to teach him how. Unbidden, a plan formulated itself in his mind. He simply had to go back in time, back to when Eobard Thawne in the guise of Harrison Wells had been mentoring him. He would have to pose as himself from the earlier time and trick Eobard into revealing his secret. He would be in and out and he wouldn't affect the timeline either. It would all go well so long as Eobard doesn't figure it out. He needed to prepare, he needed to get back to STAR labs. Caitlin and Cisco could help him, assuming he could get them on board. He got up from the table in a hurry. He stuttered an apology about needing to get back to work and thanked Wally. He knew he must seem like a mad man to the other three but he didn't care. He rushed out of the house and headed to STAR labs as quickly as his legs would carry him. He finally had his solution. For once, no one was using him as a means to their own end. For once, the tables had turned.


End file.
